Kaveh Aflaki Khosroshahireceived his B.S. degree in Electrical

Engineering from the TabrizUniversity in Iran and is currently

pursuing his M.S. degree at IranUniversity of Science and

Technology in Tehran. He can bereached at kaveh002@yahoo.com.

Shahram Jadid received his Ph.D.degree in 1991 from the Indian

Institute of Technology in Bombay.He is an Associate Professor in the

Department of ElectricalEngineering at Iran University ofScience and Technology, Tehran,

where he also heads the GreenResearch Center. His main research

interests are in power systemoperation and restructuring, load andenergy management, and knowledge-based systems. He can be reached at

jadid@iust.ac.ir.

Mohammad Shahidehpour isCarl Bodine Professor and Chairman

in the Electrical and ComputerEngineering Department at IllinoisInstitute of Technology in Chicago.

He is Vice President for Publicationsof the IEEE Power and Energy

Society and past president of theNational Electrical Engineering

Honor Society. Dr. Shahidehpour isan IEEE Distinguished Lecturer and

has lectured across the globe onelectricity restructuring issues. He is

an Honorary Professor at NorthChina Electric Power University in

Beijing and Sharif University ofTechnology in Tehran. He is a Fellow

of IEEE. He can be reached atms@iit.edu.

74 1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 El

Electric Power Restructuring inIran: Achievements andChallenges

Although the power market in Iran is not fullyconstructed, several key steps have been taken to meetprivatization and restructuring objectives. The addition ofa power exchange sector has placed the power market onpar with that in other countries. Operational concernsthat still need to be addressed include technical and non-technical losses, enhancing new investment, andproviding incentives for introducing energy efficiency andpromoting green power generation.

s

Kaveh Aflaki Khosroshahi, Shahram Jadid andMohammad Shahidehpour

I. Overview

Restructuring and privatization

of assets, when managed properly

in conformance with sound socio-

economic principles pertaining to

specific cultures across the globe,

could lead to better services,

technological improvements,

improved reliability, and the

reduction in customer costs.

Electricity restructuring started in

the U.K. and advanced to the

evier Inc. All rights reserved., doi:/10.1016/j.

United States, Scandinavian and

other European countries, Asia,

Australia, and Latin American

countries. Iran’s ministry of

energy initiated steps about 10

years ago for the restructuring of

its electric power industry, which

was believed to be of great interest

to electric power generators and

consumers. The country’s

expanding energy infrastructure

continues to shift toward the

privatization and establishment of

tej.2009.01.002 The Electricity Journal

Fig. 1: Iran’s Total Installed Generation Capacity as of Year-End 2007

M

a reasonable competition in its

electric power sector [1].

S hahidehpour and Alomoush

extensively discussed the

electricity restructuring in the U.S.,

Canada, Australia, England and

Wales, and Nordpool [2]. Rudrick

and Zollezzi reviewed the history

of restructuring in Latin America

[3]. Javerzac [4] and Jaucher [5]

analyzed restructuring in Europe.

Srivastava and Shahidehpour

studied restructuring in India [6].

Eyban and Shahidehpour

reviewed the issue in France [7].

Bekiarov and Shahidehpour

reported on the results of

restructuring in Bulgaria [8]. Tor

and Shahidehpour reported on the

impacts of power restructuring in

Turkey [9,10]. The preliminary

experience has shown that the

establishment of an electricity

market is going to be specific to

government, culture, economy,

and electricity operation and

practices in participating nations.

I ran is located in the heart of the

Middle East. It is the 18th

largest country, with an area that is

roughly 1,648,000 km2 (about

636,300 square miles). Its area is

equal to that of the United

Kingdom, France, Spain, and

Germany combined, and slightly

smaller than that of the state of

Alaska. It borders on Azerbaijan

(432 km/268 miles), Armenia

(35 km/22 miles) and Turkey

(499 km/310 miles) in the

northwest; Turkmenistan

(992 km/616 miles) in the

northeast; Pakistan (909 km/565

miles) and Afghanistan (936 km/

582 miles) in the east; Iraq

(1,458 km/906 miles) in the west;

arch 2009, Vol. 22, Issue 2 1040-6190/$–se

and finally the waters of the

Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman

in the south. Iran is divided into 30

provinces. The capital city of

Tehran, with a population of about

8 million, is the largest city and

houses about 11 percent of Iran’s

population. The other major

Iranian cities are Mashhad,

Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tabriz. Iran’s

annual population growth rate is

6.7 percent [11,12].

II. The Power Sector inIran

A. History

Table 1 presents a short review

of Iran’s electric power generation

since the beginning and the

evolution of its electric power

industry over recent years

[14,15,19].

B. Generating facilities

Iran’s installed generation

capacity by the end of 2007,

detailed in Figure 1, was

48,085.4 MW. Iran’s Ministry of

Energy and its subsidiaries owned

e front matter # 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights r

89.35 percent of the total

generating plants, while large

industries together with private

sectors owned the remaining 10.65

percent. In 2004, Iran inaugurated

its first wind-powered and

geothermal plants and itsfirst solar

thermal plant will be online in

2009. Demographic trends within

the last decade have resulted in an

8.5 percent per year increase in

Iran’s electric power demand. The

government’s stated goal is to

increase the installed capacity to

130,000 MW by 2020 [13,14].

C. Electricity grid and

interconnection

The electric power transmission

network of Iran consists of a

39,023 km circuit of high-voltage

transmission lines (400 and

230 kV); 55,842 km circuit of sub-

transmission lines (132, 66 and

63 kV); and 317,694 km-circuit of

medium-voltage lines (33 and

20 kV and 400 V) and low-voltage

lines [13]. Figure 2 demonstrates

the 400 and 230 kV network of

Iran in 2005 in which 13,498 km

circuit of existing high-voltage

transmission lines consists of

eserved., doi:/10.1016/j.tej.2009.01.002 75

Table 1: The History of the Electric Power Industry in Iran.

Years Event and Policies Technical Features Administrative Features

1885 The first dynamo in Iran came into service. The

3 kW machine was used for electric lighting

of the royal court in Tehran. This occurred

14 years after the invention of Z.T. Gramme

machine and 3 years after the inauguration

of the first commercial electrical lighting

institution by Thomas Edison in New York.

1903 A 12 hp generator was installed for electric

lighting of Imam Reza’s shrine in Mashhad

by the private sector.

1903–1906 The first license for establishing commercial

electric lighting was granted, inaugurating

the first power plant in 1906.

Low-voltage distribution Private business. Electricity was used

for lighting only during evening

hours.

1906–1940 The private sector became active in the

electricity business. Electricity supply

facilities were installed by private sections.

Municipalities developed their supervision

on electricity issues.

Isolated generating plants and short

networks confined to low-voltage

distribution. Non-uniformly

accepted standards for voltage

and frequency.

Electricity was considered as a luxury

product and was only used for

lighting. Small number of customers

throughout the country.

1940–1960 Municipalities became active in installing and

operating electric utilities. After World War

II, the government was actively involved in

electrification.

Extension of electrical networks to

voltages higher than distribution

levels. Installation of larger power

plants throughout the country.

Supply of electricity with subsidized

prices. Round-the-clock supply of

electricity to consumers.

1960–1985 Establishing the Ministry of Energy and

regional power companies. Establishment

of Iran Power Generation and Transmission

Company (TAVANIR). Banning the private

sector from investing in electricity

business.

Installation of very large power

plants. Development of 400 and

230 kV power transmission

networks. High-quality power

supply (constant voltage and

frequency). Development of power

equipment manufacturing.

Highly subsidized prices in all sections.

Development of ascending

electricity tariffs.

1985–2008 Decentralization of electricity sector.

Development of relevant manufacturing

and contracting in the electric power

industry.

Completion of national grid.

Coverage of all potential electricity

consumers. Installation of a large

number of combined-cycle and

hydroelectric power plants.

Movement toward financial self-

reliance in electricity sectors.

Endeavors for persuading investment

by private sectors. Possible reduction

in electricity prices.

76

400 kV and the other 25,525 km

circuit is of 230 kV [14].

D. Electricity consumption

In 2007, Iran’s electricity

consumption exceeded 190 TWh

and is expected to grow by 7.6

1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 Els

percent to 205 TWh in 2008. The

2007 load consumption categories

in Iran are depicted in Figure 3,

which shows that the highest

consumption occurred in the

residential and industrial sectors.

Figures 4 and 5 demonstrate that

the Iran’s peak demand in

evier Inc. All rights reserved., doi:/10.1016/j.

summer 2007 occurred in July at

about 9:00 p.m., coming to

34,894 MW (versus installed

generation capacity of

47,296 MW). It is reported that the

peak demand in Iran will increase

by 8 percent to 40,189 MW in 2008

and grow by 9 percent to

tej.2009.01.002 The Electricity Journal

Fig. 2: 400 and 230 kV Networks in Iran

Fig. 3: 2007 Categories of Electricity Consumption in Iran

Fig. 4: 2007 Monthly Peak Load Pattern in Iran [13]

March 2009, Vol. 22, Issue 2 1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights r

43,762 MW in 2009. However,

water shortages in hydroelectric

dams and forced outages of less

efficient generating units have

impacted the reliability of power

supply in Iran [13,14].

E. Supply–demand balance

It is clear that there is a need for

a rapid build-up of new

generating plants in order to

supply the growing electricity

load in Iran. The government

encourages independent and

private investments on

generating plants especially for

wind energy and other renewable

plants. The available reserve

capacity in Iran is relatively low,

reported at about 7 percent [13].

eserved., doi:/10.1016/j.tej.2009.01.002 77

Fig. 5: Daily Load Curve during a Peak Summer Day

78

The main reasons for low

operating reserves are higher

rates of increase in electricity

demand during summer months,

lack of sufficient resources such as

water for hydro power

generation, and higher rates of

forced outages of available

thermal power generating

capacity to keep pace with

demand increases. Therefore,

all efforts are exerted to increase

the investment in all sorts of new

generating capacity and enhance

the availability of existing power

plants by implementing a more

Fig. 6: Interconnections of the Iranian Grid w

1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 Els

comprehensive and optimal

planned outages of equipment

and services. The application of

load management at various

levels of consumption and the

introduction of energy efficiency

have slightly eased the supply–

demand imbalance in Iran.

III. Iran’s PowerExchange Contracts withIts Neighbors

Iran was ranked 17th among

electricity-generating countries in

ith Neighboring States [14]

evier Inc. All rights reserved., doi:/10.1016/j.

2005 according to the statistics

provided by EIA [20]. Table 2

shows Iran’s electricity indices

among the 40 top electricity-

generating countries.

A lthough the backbone of

Iran’s grid is based on

400 and 230 kV transmission

lines, a high-voltage 765 kV

line which links Iran with

Russia, an HVDC line which

links with Turkey, and an

underwater line which links

with United Arab Emirates are

further under consideration.

Recently, Iran has established

electric power contracts for

enhancing its interconnection at

various levels with Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Turkey,

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan,

Pakistan, and Iraq.

Figure 6 shows the

interconnections between Iran

and its neighboring countries.

Table 3 demonstrates the existing

and under-construction

tej.2009.01.002 The Electricity Journal

Table 2: Ranking of 40 Top Countries with Respect to Various Indices in 2005.

No. Country Population

Installed

Capacity

Net

Electricity

Generation

Net

Electricity

Consumption

Electricity

Exports

Electricity

Imports

Capacity

per

Capita

Net

Generation

per Capita

Consumption

per Capita

Operation

Index

1 United States 3 1 1 1 8 3 4 4 5 25

2 China 1 2 2 2 14 19 35 35 35 7

3 Japan 8 3 3 3 31 40 8 9 10 28

4 Russia 7 4 4 4 6 16 14 17 20 27

5 India 2 5 5 7 30 26 38 38 39 14

6 Germany 11 6 7 5 2 1 15 15 14 13

7 Canada 25 7 6 6 3 8 3 2 2 10

8 France 16 8 8 8 1 17 10 8 13 11

9 Brazil 5 9 9 9 29 4 33 32 31 22

10 United Kingdom 17 10 10 11 21 13 19 19 18 17

11 Italy 18 11 12 12 25 2 18 22 21 34

12 Spain 22 12 13 13 13 15 11 16 16 30

13 South Korea 19 13 11 10 32 39 20 12 12 1

14 Ukraine 20 14 18 19 15 27 21 26 26 39

15 Mexico 9 15 16 17 24 29 32 33 34 24

16 Australia 31 16 14 14 33 38 6 6 6 16

17 Iran 14 17 19 20 22 25 30 28 30 32

18 South Africa 21 18 15 15 12 14 25 21 22 2

19 Taiwan 29 19 17 16 34 37 12 7 7 4

20 Turkey 13 20 21 22 23 28 31 31 32 26

21 Sweden 36 21 22 21 7 10 2 3 4 20

22 Saudi Arabia 26 22 20 18 35 36 22 18 19 6

23 Poland 24 23 23 23 10 20 28 25 25 12

24 Argentina 23 24 28 28 19 18 29 29 28 35

25 Norway 40 25 24 25 11 23 1 1 1 9

26 Thailand 15 26 25 24 28 22 34 34 33 15

27 Malaysia 28 27 32 32 36 35 24 27 24 37

28 Indonesia 4 28 26 27 37 34 40 40 38 8

29 Venezuela 27 29 29 33 38 33 27 24 27 21

30 Netherlands 32 30 30 26 17 6 17 20 15 23

31 Romania 30 31 38 39 18 24 26 30 29 40

32 Pakistan 6 32 31 34 39 32 39 39 40 19

33 Egypt 12 33 27 29 26 30 36 36 36 5

34 Switzerland 38 34 39 37 4 5 7 13 9 38

35 Kazakhstan 33 35 36 38 20 21 23 23 23 33

36 Finland 39 36 35 31 27 9 5 5 3 29

37 Czech Republic 35 37 34 36 5 12 13 11 17 18

38 Philippines 10 38 40 40 40 31 37 37 37 36

39 Austria 37 39 37 35 9 7 9 14 11 31

40 Belgium 34 40 33 30 16 11 16 10 8 3

March 2009, Vol. 22, Issue 2 1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved., doi:/10.1016/j.tej.2009.01.002 79

Table 3: Interconnections between Iran and Its Neighbors [14].

80

interconnections between Iran

and its neighbors [14,18].

IV. ElectricityRestructuring in Iran

A. Privatization

Fig. 7: Restructuring in the Power Sector in Iran

The establishment of Iran’s

electricity market seemed to be

inevitable since it is expected that

the competitive environment will

make the electric power sector

more attractive to independent

investors and lead to the

development of efficient and

active power sector. The main part

of electricity restructuring in Iran

pertained to the privatization

1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 Els

articles which allow for private

investment in new power plants

[16]. Another part of electricity

evier Inc. All rights reserved., doi:/10.1016/j.

restructuring in Iran is its

implementation. The electricity

sector of Iran has unbundled

the vertically integrated utility

to four sectors including

generation, transmission,

distribution, and retail trading, as

shown in Figure 7. First, the

financial separation and

transparency are implemented by

separate accounting in each sector.

Second, each sector is an

independent establishment. Third,

competition is applied to the

competitive generation sector of

the industry [17]. The transmission

and distribution sectors are still

public and managed by the Iran

Grid Management Company

(IGMC), as discussed next.

B. Grid management

Iran Grid Management

Company was formed in 2004 as

the first independent system

operator (ISO) and the

governmental regulatory board in

Iran [17]. The main task of IGMC

tej.2009.01.002 The Electricity Journal

Fig. 8: Electricity Market in Iran [17]

M

was to supervise the electricity

market and keep it competitive.

TVANIR is a holding company

with 16 regional electric

companies (RECs), 42 distribution

companies, 27 generation

management companies, an

Electric Power Research and

Development Company (called

MATN), Iran Power Plant Project

Management Company

(MAPNA), Iran Organization for

New Energies (SANA), Iran

Organization for Energy

Productivity (SABA), and Iran

Power Plant Repairs Company. As

TAVANIR’s subsidiary

companies, these other entities are

responsible for the operation and

the security of electric power

industry and will carry out their

duties by planning, operation,

coordination, and supervision of

electric power in Iran. RECs are

responsible for generation,

transmission, distribution, and

sales of reliable electric power.

MATN is responsible for the

research, design, and

development of power generating

plants in the national grid, carried

out through local or foreign

contracts [18].

C. Electricity market

The infrastructure of the Iran

electricity market along with its

players is demonstrated in

Figure 8. This figure indicates that

the electricity market in Iran is a

purchasing agency. The main

components of the electricity

market are as follows: (1) The

market is a mandatory power

pool. (2) It is a day-ahead market.

arch 2009, Vol. 22, Issue 2 1040-6190/$–se

(3) The model of auctions is

straight ahead. (4) The method of

payment is pay-as-bid. (5) The

price of energy is determined

through a market clearing price

(MCP). In this market, the pool

manager (i.e., IGMC) is

responsible for scheduling of

short-term and long-term

generation by unit commitment

and providing the results to

Gencos. For the time being, the

exchange information is managed

by the pool manager. However,

bilateral contracts and direct

access are allowed in this market

between RECs and consumers.

The contract information, except

prices, must be submitted to the

ISO. The ISO pays hourly fixed

charges to Gencos for providing

ancillary services [16,17].

D. Pricing and payments

The price of energy in Iran’s

power market is calculated

through the market clearing price

from a submitted bid curve and

the payment method is pay-as-bid.

The primary reason for this choice

e front matter # 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights r

is that the possibility of market

power is perceived to be less than

that in a uniform pricing market.

The market regulatory board pays

Gencos annually at the end of the

financial year for ancillary

services. The main advantages of

this payment method are that it

increases the investment security,

prevents price spikes, and avoids

unnecessary stress in the market

[17]. The overall cost of electricity

is divided into variable and fixed

costs. Fixed costs are payable

through power prices and variable

costs are payable through energy

prices [18]. RECs collect customer

payments and pay the

transmission costs to IGMC

annually at the end of each fiscal

year. Figure 9 depicts the average

price of electricity for different

tariffs [14].

E. Technical and non-

technical losses

Technical and non-technical

losses in transmission and

regional distribution grids vary

about 15–25 percent. Although

eserved., doi:/10.1016/j.tej.2009.01.002 81

Fig. 9: Average Sale Price for Electric Power Tariffs

82

some of the reported measures are

technical, theft is reported to be an

issue in many rural areas of the

country. The total loss reported in

2007 was around 22.4 percent of

the generated electricity, of which

4.4 percent were transmission and

sub-transmission losses and 18

percent were distribution losses

and theft [14]. The majority of the

technical losses can easily be

managed by applying new

investment, especially by the

private sector, to augment

transmission and distributing

lines and transformers.

F. Environmental issues and

green generation

Fig. 10: Estimated Investment (in U.S. Dollars) in Iran’s Electric Power Industry during2008–09

Greenhouse gas emissions,

particularly CO2 and acid gases

such as SO2 and NOx, suspended

particles, industrial wastewater

contaminated with heavy metals,

and other contaminants are issues

which have to be dealt with in the

electric power industry. The

electric power industry in Iran is

striving to extend its monitoring

activities to maintain national and

international regulations. The

market rules in Iran encourage

green generation (especially

renewable energy) by offering

incentives through long-term

1040-6190/$–see front matter # 2009 Els

contracts or pool purchases even if

the proposed bids are not among

the winners in the daily market

auction. Recently, Iran has been

generating 50 MW of wind power

in two key areas of the country. A

geothermal generator with a

nominal capacity of 100 MW will

be online by 2009 in the northwest.

The use of solar generators in the

Iran’s power sector is under study

and 18 MW of such generation will

be online by the end of 2009 [18].

G. The financial status of

Iran’s power industry

Considering the ever-

increasing trend of electricity

consumption in Iran, there is a

great need for the additional

investment in generation,

transmission, and distribution.

evier Inc. All rights reserved., doi:/10.1016/j.

Figure 10 shows the estimated

investment in 2008–2009 [14].

T he electric power industry in

Iran at present is facing a

major challenge, since the

electricity tariff is not sufficient to

meet the required investment cost

as well as the capital needed for

the development of the electric

power industry. To overcome this

financial limitation, the electric

power industry in Iran is taking

all possible measures including

the participation of non-

governmental investors under

BOO or BOT schemes for

investing in electric power

generation. During 2005–2006, the

injection of 15,000 billion Rials (1

US$ = 9,200 Iranian Rials) by the

government into the electric

power industry bypassed the

financial disaster, without

providing a basic solution for

supplying needed additional

power generation in Iran. It is

perceived that the lack of credible

investment in the electric power

industry can lead to an incapable

industry and an economic

slowdown in the long term [14]. In

order to solve the existing

problems with the electric power

tej.2009.01.002 The Electricity Journal

M

industry in Iran, enhance the

Iran’s economic development,

and provide a satisfactory service

to electricity customers, the

country should speed up its

restructuring process and

introduce additional incentives

for encouraging substantial

investments by the private sector

in the power industry in Iran.

There is definitely a high and

certain demand growth rate in the

Iran’s electricity consumption

which should ensure the long-

term viability for such

investments. TAVANIR, as the

main government entity

responsible for the expansion of

the electricity sector in Iran, is

charged with mitigating potential

investment risks in the country’s

electricity market [16].

V. Conclusions

This article has presented a

brief analysis of the existing

electric power sector and

restructuring in Iran. Although

the power market in Iran is not

fully constructed, a number of key

steps have already been taken in

fulfilling the privatization and

restructuring objectives. By

adding a power exchange sector,

the power market operation in

Iran is on par with existing sectors

in other countries. Other

operational concerns that need to

be attended to include technical

and non-technical losses;

enhancing investment in new

facilities and the replacement of

old and inefficient generating

plants, and transmission and

arch 2009, Vol. 22, Issue 2 1040-6190/$–se

distribution assets; long-term and

optimal management of fuel,

water, and maintenance

scheduling in the electricity

sector, providing additional

incentives for introducing energy

efficiency and promoting green

power generation in various parts

of the country, and enhancement

of electricity tariffs in Iran. It is

obvious that the unbundling of

the electricity sector and the

establishment of trading

opportunities in the electricity

market will create reasonable

opportunities for private

investments and participation in

the installation and the operation

of new power plants. It is

imperative for the power market

to create synergies with other

markets like natural gas and

emissions in order to profit from

the possible arbitrage of various

commodities. The provision of

such alternatives in Iran should

consider perceived risks for both

short-term and long-term

planning and operation of the

electricity infrastructure and the

economic viability of delivering

better and more reliable services

to customers in Iran.&

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